Saturday, January 30, 2010

What a fun group January Spin-in attendees are!! The venue is open, vendors bring fiber, attendees bring the laughter and fun! So, this week has been all about the people and the wonderful things they create. more photos tomorrow!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

It's the beginning of our 22nd January spin-in--lots of spinners, vendors with wonderful fibers, visiting with friends, learning new techniques and just plain having fun. Donated door prizes from participants fill the table and spill over under and out around the table. And then there was the fiber!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

About two years ago, a fellow spinner friend gave me several small bags of lovely dyed cotton fiber that came from the textile mill at Texas Tech. These dyed fibers were an experiment for TT and they turned out beautifully. The fiber rested nicely and then it was time to spin them--aging had been appropriate time! Okay, so the fibers had been spun and there was another resting period--actually, they needed to tell me what to make and finally, it came to me when I saw Kris Knits beach patterns. Perfect!! So, taking needles to spun 4 ply yarn, these washcloths were created. They were fun to knit and now, this bundle of cloths will be presented to the person who started the process in the first place.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

This post does not center around a garden theme. No, but by far, the hardest Bloomin' thing that these hands have ever accomplished! And many lessons were learned along the way. Stumbling through the internet is a favorite pastime and finding interesting and unique happenings is the highlight of this journey. Coming across the website Bloomin Workshop , the eyes feasted upon a free quilt-along. Now, how could one resist this opportunity to quilt along with one of the best? Of course, it was easy to jump on this bandwagon as it was year long process and project. Anita would supply the pattern idea each month and participants would just sew up their blocks to create a finished quilt by year's end. The project was a Medallion quilt--something new to learn and anticipate each month.Okay, here is how you begin. Find your center medallion block. It must be 12.5"--well, that should be an easy task, but which block to make? It needs to be quite the focal point. Here is the block that was decided upon: The first few sew arounds went along fine and dandy. Then one month slipped by and another and guess what, you are off schedule and there is the need to hurry to catch up with the group's progress. Chug, chug along is what this one was being called after a few months work. Stretch...... fit those blocks around the best you can. Then there was the month when there were bias blocks, lots of bias blocks and if you have to ripe (as in this case two times) the bias becomes slightly off--well, actually, big time off!Finally, yes, finally, the whole was complete and bundled off to the quilter. Out of sight, out of mind, right? NOT! The quilter is having a rough time getting the top to quilt--why, well, it's because of all those mistakes in measuring and bias riping. My advice to her--just take out what you can and make the best of the quilting. Well, she is a saint! There was no swearing, no cussing, and hopefully, no talking behind my back about this quilt.... whisper, whisper..did you hear about that one medallion quilt she made? The final project was an experience and the quilt along or chug along (in my case) turned out pretty good--thanks to one good quilter! and hopefully, if and when another medallion quilt is considered, the quilter will not shy away and say "never more".

Friday, January 22, 2010

Next week is the beginning of our annual spinners gathering in Destin, Florida. OH, what a time we have and have had for the past 20+ years. Four days of spinning, gabbing, spinning, visiting, spinning, learning new techniques, spinning, shopping, spinning, meeting new friends, spinning, seeing old friends, spinning, show & tell, spinning and the list goes on and on. It's a fun week and hard to describe--you just have to be there! Each year we have a theme; theme for 2010 is "Sock It To Me". Well, you can imagine there will be lots of socks shown and worn.Well, look what showed up in my mailbox one day! A SOCK MONKEY! by way of dear knitter friend Judy in Colorado--what a surprise and a treat. And look what badge he is wearing: Is that not a hoot?!! Good ole sock monkey will be the hit of the party and he is bringing along his game "Who's got the monkey?". Maybe, we can give away some 'monkeys' that are in our baggage to others. Well, just 'SOCK IT 2 ME'!!!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

There are those who move among us that are very creative. They are not boastful. They do not 'toot their own horns'. They just quietly move among us. And then one day they display their awesome ability to 'wow' you with their talented work! This is Olga. And this is her latest piece--Titled "MELT"which was accepted in the exhibition "The Climate is Changing !", a juried traveling exhibition of felt textile art on the impact of human actions on the environment.The exhibition will be opened at the Museo del Tessuto (Textile Museum), Prato, Italy on May 7,2010 and then will tour Germany and the United Kingdom and possibly other countries during 2010 & 2011.Her tools are her hands, bubble wrap, wool, some silk and lots of hard work. Of course, her design idea came first.

The back of the piece and close-up of brilliant blue locks. Her scarves were featured in Harper's Bazaar online holiday gift guide "Luxury gifts for women who have it all". (#9 on slide show)ART-FELT by Olga--an up and coming new international designer and talented artist. Yes, there are those artistic people who walk quietly among us.

Monday, January 18, 2010

A call went out from a quilter in our ex-patchers group. Flannel blankets were needed by doctor in a small community; the doctor wanted to give newborns in her center a little warmth and comfort since many of the parents were lacking financial funds to provide some essentials. This is a plea easily answered. On a recent visit to the local craft store, several discounted remnants were spotted in the bin--flannel and knit fabrics. Purchasing length same as width for the top, add contrasting fabric for backing with right sides together, sew around (leave small opening for turning), turn, press and you have a nice blanket. Combining these fabrics along with a couple yards purchased from the bolt, three blankets were sewn. The pink plaid has been backed with a solid pink. The other two blankets will need a backing. Take #5 perle cotton (there are many cones in my weaving supply closet!) and do a blanket stitch around the sides. This adds a nice finish to the blanket.